September 11th

US Envoy to hold three days of talks with Palestinian, Israeli leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 11, 2009 - 12:00am US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell is set to start three days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders Sunday in an effort to prepare the region for potential peace talks, the US State Department said. » Read more

A Peace Process Momentum Plan to Move Quickly to Actual Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Samuel Lewis, Edward Walker - (Analysis) September 11, 2009 - 12:00am After his major speeches in Turkey and Egypt, President Obama established his ownership of the Arab-Israeli issue. With countries in the region testing whether he has the wherewithal to deliver the goods, his challenge is to keep the momentum going forward on an almost daily basis with practical steps and leadership. The President needs to create a "peace process momentum plan" leading to negotiations by mid-fall, which recent reports suggest he is trying to do through his Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, who is traveling to Israel again at the end of the week. » Read more

What Is Peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) September 10, 2009 - 12:00am Israelis want peace but don’t believe it’s possible. That is the cumulative finding of a host of opinion polls, and it is critical to any effort by President Barack Obama to create a new momentum toward peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. For many Israelis, the peace with Egypt and Jordan has not appeared sufficiently beneficial, despite the added security it has brought, to pursue peace with the Palestinians or Syrians. » Read more

U.S. Middle East envoy to visit Israel, Palestinian territories ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 11, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. President Barrack Obama's special envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories this weekend in a bid to revive stalled regional peace talks, the State Department said on Thursday. "George Mitchell ... will depart the United States tomorrow night," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters. Mitchell's visit to the Middle East will begin on Sunday and last through Monday and Tuesday, Crowley said, adding that details were still being worked out. » Read more

Israel PM, Egypt president to talk peace in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Patrick Moser - September 11, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's hawkish premier heads to Cairo on Sunday for talks focused on a US-led push to revive the Middle East peace process amid charges that his settlement policies are harming the efforts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will "discuss the peace process and issues of mutual concern," a spokesman for the premier said. Netanyahu "is looking forward to a good meeting with the Egyptian president," the spokesman said without giving further details. » Read more

September 10th

Netanyahu bureau mired in anarchy, turf wars and lies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) September 10, 2009 - 12:00am If over the past few weeks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be making some order in his office, his conduct and that of his advisers regarding his secret trip to Moscow reveal that anarchy, turf wars and mendacious responses to both the media and the public are but a few of the manifestations of the organizational culture prevailing in the office that runs the State of Israel. » Read more

Why stop with Elbit? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) September 9, 2009 - 12:00am The question is not why Norway divested from the defense electronics giant Elbit Systems, but why only now, and why only from that company? The country that gave the name of its capital city to what the world thought of as a peace process is still invested in companies involved in construction and development in the West Bank settlements - the principal factor in destroying any chance for peace (at least any peace other than the belligerent demand that the Palestinians say "thank you" for what Israel is willing to give them). » Read more

Spanish FM: Syria optimistic about talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am President Shimon Peres met in Jerusalem Wednesday evening with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who reportedly relayed a message concerning Syria. According to Moratinos, Syrian President Bashar Assad said during their meeting that he was "optimistic about reigniting the Israeli-Syrian peace process." » Read more

Spain supports Palestinian statehood on 1967 borders: FM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 10, 2009 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister of Spain Miguel Angel Moratinos said Wednesday that his country supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian statehood on the borders of 1967. Moratinos made the statement in a joint news conference held in Ramallah with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, adding that Spain and the European Union "will keep exerting every possible effort to achieve the Palestinian goals." » Read more

Media war rages over Gaza conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Seth Freedman - (Opinion) September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Gone are the days when history was written solely by the victors. In today's democratised climate of instantly disseminated words and images, those on either side of a battlefield have the potential to feed facts and figures to media outlets around the world, or to pass on video footage and photographs that their opponents might prefer never saw the light of day. » Read more